Vitalik’s expectations for AI + cryptocurrency

Author: David C, Bankless; Compiler: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

Artificial intelligence + cryptocurrency is a topic that we spend a lot of time discussing at Bankless. This seems to be something Vitalik has been thinking about lately.

His latest article discusses the potential intersection between these two technologies. We’ve got a long story for you today, but as always, it’s worth reading in its entirety! In his article, Vitalik spends much of his time cataloging where AI could find utility in cryptocurrencies, focusing on four broad areas to discuss their promise and challenges:

1. AI as gamer:

Vitalik believes this is highly feasible - AI agents participating in blockchain transactions, e.g. DEX exchange or arbitrage trade. A prime example he cites is AIOmen, an AI-powered prediction market. In these markets, AI provides a powerful tool that can make a large number of small, intelligent guesses, thereby improving how well these markets work and the quality of the information we get from them. For example, even if a certain issue in the market is not of interest to most people, AI will still study it because their goal is the overall accuracy of predictions—improving the overall quality of the market.

2. Artificial intelligence as an interface for games:

Vitalik said: Artificial intelligence has great potential. But the risks are also high. Artificial intelligence can guide users through encryption and provide features such as Metamask fraud detection. Artificial intelligence can explain the inner workings of complex transactions, enhancing user understanding and security. However, significant risks arise if people can manipulate AI defenses.

3. Artificial intelligence as a rule of the game:

The most dangerous category. It involves artificial intelligence enforcing the rules of a smart contract, or DAO—similar to a digital judge. Again, the risk here is whether attackers can exploit AI vulnerabilities, especially if the model or its training data is transparent.

4. AI as a Game Goal:

In the long term, this category involves using areas Blockchain is used to develop and maintain artificial intelligence to complete tasks such as training and data protection. Vitalik claims that decentralizing AI in this way can promote AI safety by creating a natural kill switch for agents.

Advances in generative artificial intelligence over the past year have prompted investors to rethink how the field can reshape the tech economy, leading to a flood of investors pouring money into fledgling AI-related tokens. The reality is that most early efforts to integrate artificial intelligence into cryptocurrencies today only scratch the surface.

Overall, Vitalik is clearly excited about these possibilities of AI + cryptocurrencies, although he seems absolutely convinced that these innovations must be treated with caution - as he stated in another blog post a few months ago This is discussed in depth in .